1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to orthopedic surgical instruments and procedures. More particularly, this invention relates to an orthopedic surgical apparatus that makes possible the surgical replacement of degenerative ankle tissue between the bottom of the tibia and the adjoining top of the talus bone.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many people today are involved in a sport or some other type of physical activity. Some of these activities involve a low risk of chance of injury to one's joints, such as walking and swimming, while others involve a high risk of injury, such as football and ballet dancing.
Primarily as a result of these activities, injured and diseased joints are a common occurrence for an ever increasing number of people. One of the most commonly afflicted joints is the ankle joint, withh arthritis of the ankle being a frequent problem for many people.
Arthritis of the ankle is a condition in which the tissue surfaces between the bottom of the tibia and the adjoining top of the talus bone becomes diseased or worn. People afflicted withh this condition often experience great pain when walking, or doing any activity that requires movement of the foot. Eventually the pain from this condition becomes so severe that often some form of ankle surgery is required to alleviate it.
In recent years, conventional orthopedic surgical procedures have consisted of either fusing the ankle and lower leg bone together withh pins, or replacing a section of the affected tissue withh a metal-polymer prosthesis. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,259.
Both of these approaches have their drawbacks. For example, in fusion there is a loss of motion in the ankle joint which may cause difficulties withh other associated parts of the leg, such as the knee joint and more distal joints in the hindfoot. Meanwhile, replacing the affected tissue withh a metal-polymer member has resulted in cases where bone has failed to grow into crevices along the metal-bone interface thereby causing considerable pain for the patient and result in the lifespan of such a prosthesis being diminished to only a few years or less.
Recent advancements in biomedical engineering, which have overcome many of the problems associated withh the body's rejection of foreign materials, have now made it possible to consider using cadaverous ankle tissue in place of the metal-polymer, prosthesis materials. The present invention resulted from medical research directed to the development of the means and procedures for replacing the affected tissue in injured and diseased ankle joints withh healthy, cadaverous ankle tissue. These new means and procedures should make a significant contribution to the continuing need for the development of better means of treating ankle joint injuries and diseases.
3. Objects and Advantages
As a means to better understand the present invention, it is instructive to also consider the objects and advantages of the present invention.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that facilithates a surgical procedure where it is desired to cut a bone so as to have a prescribed degree of curvature in the cut bone.
It is an another object of the present invention to provide a better means of treating ankle joint injuries and diseases.
It is an yet another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that facilithates a surgical procedure involving the replacement of ankle tissue between the bottom of the tibia and the adjoining top of the talus bone.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a means that facilithates replacing the injured and diseased tissue of ankle joints withh healthy, cadaverous tissue.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a means for replacing the injured and diseased tissue of ankle joints in such a manner that lesser amounts of tissue have to be resected from the ankle.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a means for replacing the injured and diseased tissue of ankle joints in such a manner that the replacement tissue will have a minimal risk of being rejected.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent, as the invention is better understood by reference to the accompanying drawings and the detailed description that follows.